As they did in 2019, Team France and Team Denmark will face each other Sunday, July 10, to decide the third place, bronze medal winner in the 2022 IFAF Men’s U19 European Championship.
Both teams are coming off tough losses.
Denmark were beaten by the defending European champions, Team Austria 23-7, while France went down to defeat at the hands of Team Sweden, 31-21.
Team Denmark head coach Victor Ebsen Andersen will no doubt be looking to find a way to get his offense working after gaining a total of 107 yards against the Austrians. Magnus Abrahamsen Linnebjerg started at quarterback in the opening game but struggled completing just three passes for 43 yards. His backup, Mikkel Vase Hegnelt fared no better completing four passes of 12 for 42 yards. Starting running back Mathias Alvan Nielsen Mazanti rushed for a total of 18 yards. To keep pace with the French, the Danish offense needs to click, and the offensive line will need to find a way to open running lanes and protect the quarterbacks.
For France’s head coach Emmanuel Maguet, the situation in terms of his quarterbacks is not much different as Antoine Lefrebvre threw for a total of 64 yards and back up Dimitri Vercaigne 24. Against Sweden, Maguet was able to rely on his running game though with Valentin Delayen gaining 101 yards and Robin Collioud 47 and a touchdown. Add to this Alexis Pitou who had 40 yards rushing on just four carries and the French ground game looks impressive. Expect France to attack the Danish front seven all game long.
However, the biggest key to this game will be turnovers. Against Sweden, Team France fumbled the ball away four times while the Danes had two key fumbles against Austria. To have a chance to win today, both teams need to protect the ball.
In 2019, Team France were bronze medalists after beating Denmark 42-15. Will history repeat itself or will Denmark rise up to their 2015 level and win another bronze medal?
Watch the game live here. Team Denmark vs Team France, July 10. 11:00 CET (11 am, 05:00 am ET)
